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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26218672">Though the Cold Wind Blows</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonytheMarauder1/pseuds/MoonytheMarauder1'>MoonytheMarauder1</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Irondad, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, minor character injury</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 09:42:07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,531</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26218672</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonytheMarauder1/pseuds/MoonytheMarauder1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>You're supposed to be a hero, so why didn't you save him?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>~~</p><p>Sometimes, Peter doesn't think he can bear the weight of the world anymore. Luckily, Tony is always there to help him carry it.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Peter Parker &amp; Tony Stark</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>46</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Though the Cold Wind Blows</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hey, y'all! So, never thought I'd take the plunge and leave HP, but here we are... and now I can't stop writing Marvel. :P</p><p>Warnings for referenced/briefly described injuries to a minor character.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The cold night air seemed to close in on Peter, its icy hands seizing his lungs and squeezing. His breaths came in short, sharp gasps as he swung from building to building, but he didn’t slow his frantic pace. He didn’t know where he was going, nor did he care; he just needed to get <em> away. </em></p><p>He couldn’t stop seeing the little boy’s body soar through the air, couldn’t stop hearing the sickening <em> crack </em> as it collided with a wall—and then his mother’s desperate wails, her accusing glare as she shouted at Spider-Man—</p><p>
  <em> You’re supposed to be a hero, so why didn’t you save him? </em>
</p><p>Why hadn’t he? Why hadn’t he turned before the kid was flung through the air—why hadn’t he sensed that there was someone else in danger—why hadn’t he moved just a little faster?</p><p>The shame curled in Peter’s chest, white-hot and uncomfortable. He felt so stupid; he wasn’t Captain America. He wasn’t Iron Man. He was fifteen-year-old Peter Parker, and the villains bested him sometimes. But this time, it hadn’t been him who’d gotten hurt—it’d been a little kid. A kid who never should have needed to ride in an ambulance, unconscious, with his mother beside him. </p><p>Peter landed on the roof of a building, spent. He wished that he’d managed to find a place with more cover, but it was a concrete jungle all around him. Unless he wanted to flee to Central Park, Peter couldn’t think of a place with high enough trees. It was the roof, then. </p><p>He pressed himself into a corner, ripping off his mask with shaking hands. His knees were drawn to his chest, and he felt foolish in his red and blue suit. Peter squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to gain control of his breathing. </p><p>Some fearless hero he was. </p><p>After some time, Peter heard the familiar sound of thrusters. His face burned red, but he didn’t move from his position as his visitor neared. </p><p>“You missed curfew, you know.”</p><p>Peter nodded his head slightly, but he didn’t lift his gaze to meet Tony’s. He was vaguely surprised that it was so late, but he found that he didn’t really care about breaking curfew right then. </p><p>“You’re gonna have to respond to me, kid. I don’t speak gloomy teenager.”</p><p>A flash of annoyance rose up in Peter; he turned away from the other hero and stared at the ground. “It’s not like that,” he mumbled.</p><p>He heard the tell-tale sound of the Iron Man suit opening up. A moment later, there was a hand on his shoulder. When Peter lifted his head, Tony’s face was inches from his own. The older man’s face was carefully blank, but Peter thought there was a hint of concern in his eyes. </p><p>Tony’s request, as always, was simple and straight to the point. “Talk.”</p><p>But it really wasn’t that easy. He looked up at Tony’s face, and suddenly, he wondered why he’d thought that Tony could ever have faith in him. </p><p>Because hadn’t he just proven Tony right? <em> I know you want to save the world. But… you’re not ready yet. </em></p><p>
  <em> What if somebody had died tonight? </em>
</p><p>He was caught in a loop of failure. And Tony, his lifelong hero… he was always the one who had to tell Peter that he <em> wasn’t good enough. </em></p><p>Tears pricked at his eyes. He wiped them away, embarrassed, as the story of the night’s events weighed heavily on his tongue. But Tony was waiting, and if Peter knew anything, it was that Tony Stark didn’t do patience. </p><p>“I—I… I just.” He lost his courage when he looked at Tony again. “Forget it. It’s stupid. I’ll be fine, I’ll just—I’ll stay here for a bit, then swing back home. You can tell May not to worry.”</p><p>“Yeah, about that.” Tony arched an eyebrow. “I can’t exactly tell her that when I’m worried myself.” He lowered himself onto the concrete beside Peter, then leaned back to stare at the night sky. “Friday says you stopped some guys with that alien tech—probably left over from Toomes. We should investigate that. Get it out of the city. Wanna come out with me sometime, we can kick alien—”</p><p>“You were right,” Peter blurted out. He looked away when Tony frowned at him confusedly. “When… when you said I couldn’t handle it.”</p><p>“I just told you you <em> did </em> handle it—”</p><p>“No, I didn’t!” Peter jumped angrily to his feet, marching away as Tony struggled to stand. Peter ran his hands through his hair and turned his back to the other man. “Someone got hurt,” he whispered after a few moments. “A kid. They took him to the hospital.”</p><p>A heavy silence followed, and Peter braced himself for the disappointment that was sure to come. He’d endangered people on the ferry, and Tony had been furious—what would his anger be like now that someone—a child—had actually been hurt? </p><p>But to his surprise, there wasn’t a hint of anger in Tony’s voice when he spoke. Instead, the sound was heavy, resigned… almost defeated. </p><p>“You can’t save everyone, kid. It’s actually impossible.”</p><p>“But I should have been able to save him!” He wrapped his arms around himself and hung his head. When he next spoke, it was barely above a whisper. “The whole point… the whole point of Spider-Man is to protect the little guy.”</p><p>A hand clapped down on Peter’s shoulder. Tony shook his head slightly, his head tilted to the side. “Tell me what’s going on in that head,” he demanded. “Where’s the kid who was so ready to move on to the big leagues, huh?”</p><p>The words were playful, but there was still a heaviness to Tony’s voice. Peter glanced away. “I just—I guess you’re right. I stayed on the ground, like you wanted, and people are still getting hurt.” His voice was small. He wished, more than ever, that he could just skip all the training and jump right to a skilled hero—every mistake he made on this journey affected someone else. </p><p>Those consequences hadn’t felt this real before, but Peter was suddenly very sure that he shouldn’t be responsible for the lives of others. </p><p>“So, what?” Tony questioned him. “You’re going to hang up the suit?”</p><p>He wasn’t sure. “I—”</p><p>“Goodbye Spider-Man? Hope New York can handle itself?”</p><p>Peter’s face burned. “New York has the Avengers,” he muttered.</p><p>“No,” Tony corrected him fiercely, “the world has the Avengers. You, on the other hand… you looked out for the individuals. Remember when I told you that if you were nothing without the suit, you shouldn’t have it?” When Peter gave a tiny nod, Tony continued, giving Peter’s shoulder a quick shake. “You proved to me that you, Peter Parker, are <em> something </em> without that suit.”</p><p>Tony pulled away then, stuffing his hands in his pockets and sauntering back to his armor. “But by all means, kid,” he called over his shoulder, “prove me wrong.” He extended a hand to Peter. “Give me back the mask; I can collect the suit later. If you really think that you can be content hanging on the sidelines, letting the Avengers take the big stuff and stepping aside if you see smaller crimes—and can let the NYPD handle it—then give the mask back.”</p><p>The white eyes of his mask seemed to burn into him; his grip on the red and black material tightened. “Let… let go of Spider-Man?”</p><p>This was what he’d just told Tony he wanted, wasn’t it? But…</p><p>“Mhmm. It’s not your problem anymore, is it?” Tony eyed Peter, hand still extended. When he next spoke, his voice was quiet. “Or is it still your fault when the bad things happen if you have the power to stop them?”</p><p>And really, Peter should have seen that coming. Tony always seemed to manage to use his own words against him. </p><p>“Yeah, exactly,” he croaked. “I had the power to stop that kid from getting hurt, but I failed—”</p><p>“If you hadn’t been there—if you hadn’t put yourself in danger for those people—<em> everyone </em> would have been hurt,” Tony interrupted. “Not one kid. Five. Ten. Twenty. You can’t save everyone, and there will always be people who resent that you didn’t save them, but the people you do save—those people <em> matter. </em> ” Tony’s head turned to the right, towards the New York skyline. “ <em> You </em> matter.”</p><p>Peter considered Tony for a minute, then, with hands still trembling, he pulled his mask back over his head. </p><p>Tony spread out his hands. “Aaand he’s back.” A small smile pulled at Tony’s lips. “Knew he would be. I’m never wrong.”</p><p>Peter smothered a smile behind the mask, but didn’t acknowledge that. After a moment’s hesitation, he said, “Thanks, Mr. Stark.”</p><p>Tony offered him a two-fingered salute. “Anytime, Spider-Man. You need a ride?”</p><p>Holding up his web shooters, Peter shook his head. “I think I’m covered, thanks.”</p><p>Tony stepped into the Iron Man armor and inclined his head in acknowledgement. “An escort, then?”</p><p>Some of the tension drained out of Peter’s shoulders, and he offered Tony a small smile behind the mask. </p><p>“I’d like that.”</p>
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